Freezing
by Sheba the Lone Wolf
Summary: When Blue wanders from the pack during a harsh blizzard, it's up to Hige to keep her from freezing to death. Hige/Blue. One-shot. Fluff.


**Disclaimer: Sheba the Lone Wolf does not own Wolf's Rain. **

**Pairings: Hige/Blue. **

**Freezing **

_Blue's P.O.V. _

"Hige, where are you when I need you the most?"

I heaved a sigh, my breath drifting through the freezing air in a white cloud. Huddled against the farthest wall of the small cavern, I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped both arms around them. The cold was brutal. The howling winds sent snow streaming into my shelter, gathering on my eyelashes and nose. My face was numb with cold; my ears and nose were frozen.

"Oh, Hige, if you were here, I'm sure you'd know exactly how to keep me warm," I sighed. "Or, would you be disgusted with me because I'm not enough of a wolf to drag myself through a blizzard?"

I closed my eyes and remembered the snowy, winter days I had spent with Pops, Mom, and Bruce. While Pops and Mom sipped hot chocolate on the sofa, Bruce would lie with me on the knit rug in front of the fireplace, burying his face in my fur with one arm around me. Pops and Mom would smile, exchanging light conversation while Bruce and I played.

I wished that the memory was more than a hallucination. I longed to be lying on the rug before the fireplace, listening to Pops and Mom while Bruce peacefully slept bedside me. Yet, I knew that with the burning of Kyrios came a single good thing: I had met Hige. But, I wondered that this would be the end of me. Would I die in this small cavern, alone and freezing? Would I ever see Hige again now that I had accidentally strayed from my pack while forcing myself onward through the blizzard?

"Blue!"

Death was coming faster than I had thought it would. As if freezing to death wasn't bad enough, the winds and snow were playing tricks on me. I had heard my name, but common sense told me that I must have been hearing things. There was no possible way that one of the others had seen me wander from the pack; I had not known I was leaving myself until the storm had calmed for a brief moment and I had seen myself standing alone among the heaps of snow.

"Blue!"

It was taunting and terrible. The voice calling my name could have only belonged to Hige, who I longed for in the darkness of the cavern.

At least, I thought, I would hear Hige's voice one final time before I froze to death.

"Blue!"

The snow must have damaged my eyes because I thought I had seen Hige, a black silhouette standing within the storm, standing in the distance. Had the blizzard calmed enough for me to see? Or was my mind playing tricks on me again?

"Blue! Blue, where are you?!"

"Hige…," I whispered. The voice was closer now; my mind hadn't been playing tricks on me. Squinting as a flurry of snow was blown onto my face, I crawled to the cavern's entrance and, again, saw the black outline of Hige's body on the horizon. I smiled and waved my arms.

"Hige!" I shouted. "Hige! I'm over here!"

"Blue! Where are you?!" Hige yelled. I was exhausted and I felt heavy with sleep; I longed to retreat to the back of the cavern and lie down to rest, to simply hope that Hige would find me before I drifted into a sleep that I could not awaken from. But, it wouldn't be fair to Hige, for him to struggle in this blizzard until he found my body in this cavern. So, I forced myself to continue waving my arms, giving a silent plea that he would see me.

"Hige! Hige!" I screamed. "Hige, over here!"

"Blue!"

There was relief saturating Hige's voice. Shouting my name, he ran to join me in the cavern's entrance. Exhausted, I collapsed in his arms. I felt like I had been frozen, like an ice cube or a popsicle. I wanted to sleep, but I was afraid to close my eyes. If I did, would I die?

"Blue…," he gasped. The blizzard was raging again; I couldn't see his face, even though it was only three or four inches from mine. He touched my cheek, warmth flooding from his hand and giving me the strength to smile.

"Blue, you're so cold…," Hige breathed. "And you're face is turning gray."

"Hige, I don't feel good," I whispered. "I want to lie down and sleep for a little while."

"No, don't fall asleep!" Hige shouted. I felt limp and helpless in his arms.

"Hige…," I murmured. "Will you stay with me?"

Hige's words were slurred; I couldn't hear him over the roar of the blizzard. He carried me inside; I couldn't have walked if I tried; and laid me on the stone of the floor. I heard him plead that I didn't fall asleep while he covered the entrance with layers of snow. So, I watched, drowsily, as he piled armloads of snow in the entrance, packing it tightly so it didn't fall. He finished and walked back to where I laid on the ground.

"Blue, don't fall asleep," he pleaded. "Please, don't fall asleep."

Hige peeled my jacket off and replaced it with his hoodie, warm from being worn on his body. The article far too large, he wrapped curtaining fabric draped on the floor around me like a blanket and pulled my coat back onto my limp and freezing body. He tucked my scarf securely into my coat, buttoned and containing a lovely warmth. But, the warmth of the layers of clothing wasn't enough to make the freezing sensation within me cease.

Then, suddenly, I was enveloped in a breathtaking warmth. I smiled feebly and rested my head against Hige's chest; he had lifted me to sit on his lap. His embrace was warm, sending waves of heat throughout my frozen body. I would have never thought that the arms of a man could have been so warm and welcoming. It was pleasant.

The warmth from Hige's arms was better than imagining the pleasure of running through the fields of paradise. It was greater than the warmth illuminating from the fireplace while Bruce slept beside me on the knit rug in our home in Kyrios.

It was paradise.

**A/N: Will my endings ever improve? No, probably not. Maybe I'll get lucky and finish the rewrites of my one-shots by tomorrow. Please review. **

**~Sheba~ **


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